, 1887-04-22
A COSTLY wAIF OF THE SEA.
Sailors Once in a While Find n Fortune
Floating on tho Water.

store on lower Nassau street the other
day, carrying with them a parcel which
they handled as carefully as q young
mother fondles her infant. They thought
they had a piece of ambergris, which is
a very costly substance usually found in
the belly of a dyspeptic whale.
They were confident they had some
thing worth about $50, 900, but upon
examination, unfortunately, it was found
to be only hardened tallow mixed with
dirt and salt-about as valuable as n
chattel mortgage on a flock of pigeons.
The captain could not believe in the ex-
pert's Judgment and went out, still
clutching his long guarded treasure and
expressing his dissatisfaction with a
liberal use of profanity. Similar mis-
takes to the one already described arc
often made in this city. The proprietor
of the store spoke of the history and uses
of ambergris as follows:
NEARLY every n is constantly using
a~mbergris. 1t is every day in the hands
of ladies and gentlemen throughout the
world, but comparatively few people
know anything about it. Its origin is
disputed. Even scientists do not agree
upon its true source; and, although it
enters all houses where civilization reaches
and an immensely profitable trade in the
commodity is carried N, nine out of ten
people whom you meet would not know
h you meant if you mentioned its
name. 1t is a slatelike substance, vary
ing in color from dark to light gray, the
darker shades, which are also denser in
fiber, being the most valuable. A piece
weighing from twenty to t~hirty-five
pounds is seen but once in a lifetime.
Tho n,naf 90 - lnarIn1 ~ tho 1aaInra IA
made up of pieces only a few ounces in
weight. 1t is worth to-day about 1924
per ounce and during the last few years
has sold as high as $40 per ounce in con-
sequence of its scarcity. Finding a piece
of it is like finding a So note. You are
as likely, or unlikely, to find it in one
place as i'll another. There are several
theories as to its origin, the generally ac-
cepted one being that it is al accumula-
ton of secreted and indigestible matter
in the stomach of a sick whale. 1t is
found all over the globe at raro intervals
by seafaring men, either floating on the
water, cast up on some shore or lodged
inside the whale. The greatest source of
supply is the Arctic ocean, and also the
southern ATTITUDES, the usual cruising
ground of the whaling vessels. The COM
manders are always on the lookout for it,
NJ among the superstitious Of the sea it is
considered an omen of good luck for the
ship ever afterward when her master
brings home a piece of ambergris. He is
always allowed a portion of the profits.
You could put a piece worth $4,000 in
your overcoat pocket, and from this you
can understand how the toilers of the
ocean never cease their vigilance in hunt
ing for it.
''The fact that it is the most efficient
known substance in producing the last
ing quality in perfumery gives it its enor-
nous commercial value. Civet and musk
are used for the same purpose, but are
not as powerful. When a perfume is
made, white rose, cassia or h~eliotrope,
for example, the odor of the flowers
would quickly pass away, as the spirits
forming the body of the liquid evaporate.
Ambergris, however, prevents this, and
is the indispensable boon that holds back
the scent for days and weeks upon the
handkerchief. When treated with alco-
hol it divides itself up into an almost in
finite number of fine particles, which arc
mixed in the perfumery and remain on
the fabric after the spirits have evapor-
ated, acting as minute reservoirs and
holding the pure essence of the flower
after the cloth Is perfectly dry. One
ounce dissolved in a gallon of alcohol will
make a strong tincture, and you would
DO required to use only a single ounce of
this tincture in a gallon of perfumery,
which conveys an idea of how far a few
ounces of ambergris will go. Its production
is limited to a few pounds per year, where
as it is the most important factor in the
manufacture of milliens of gallons of per-
fumery. When a large piece is found,
the news of the discovery is telegraphed
to dealers and the markets of the world
are affected. In one instance a New
York firm, some years ago, bought up a
large portion of the existing supply and
realized largely on the corner thus pro-
duced. Boston is the most Influential
center, as New Bedford, near at hand,
sends out more whaling ships han any
other city of any country. The owners
of the ships sell the ambergris to the
wholesale dealers, and although all drug
stores keep q little on hand, it is bought
directly from the wholesale men by the
perfumery manufacturers New York
Mail and Express.